1. Statement of the Technical Field
The inventive arrangements relate to miter boxes for trim carpentry work. In particular, the invention relates to an improved miter box for guiding a handheld circular saw.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the field of trim carpentry work, it is desirable to use a saw guide or miter box to ensure a straight, smooth and accurate cut. Such cuts include 45 degree straightcuts to unite the corners of a door frame molding. Another example includes 90 degree straightcuts with a 45 degree undercut to unite baseboards at a corner of a room. Absent a saw guide or miter box, a user must typically mark a straight line in pencil with the help of a straightedge and protractor and attempt to manually guide the saw along the marked line. Moreover, making accurate and smooth straightcuts and undercuts in a workpiece using a handheld portable circular saw has been a long standing problem in the field. Handheld power saws, by their very nature, have no precise cutting path. Compounding the problem, the operational vibration caused by a handheld power saw makes it even more difficult to maintain a steady cutting path. Also, it is sometimes difficult to make certain cuts using circular saws that are designed for right handed individuals
Miter saws have been the common type of equipment used in the field of trim carpentry. However, there are several disadvantages in using a miter saw. First of all, miter saws are very expensive and are prone to be stolen or damaged at a construction site. Second, they are difficult to transport given their bulky size and relatively heavy weight. Moreover, given that the great majority of cuts used in trim carpentry work involve simple 45 and 90 degree angles, a miter saw's wide range of adjustable angle cuts would appear to be unnecessary for most types of trim work.
In the past, several kinds of portable miter boxes have tried to address some, but not all of the problems discussed earlier. Another unresolved problem using miter boxes is that they are usually adapted for right-handed saw operation only. Therefore, what is needed is a miter box that can be used universally with circular saws that are adapted for either right or left handed individuals. Additionally, the improved miter box should be designed so that it can assist in creating a 45 degree undercut along a 90 degree angled cut. In addition, the miter box should be designed such that the shoe of the handheld portable circular saw is afforded more stability and easier alignment with the saw guide of a miter box.